May 11, 2016

Creativity

Why You Should Stop Brainstorming Immediately.

Creativity

Why You Should Stop Brainstorming Immediately.

"Without great solitude, no serious work is possible,"said Pablo Picasso

Brainstorming has become the play for just about every corporate problem. Itâ€™s a feel-good and purposeful reason for people to gather. And itâ€™s fun because we get to say crazy things. But lately, weâ€™ve been hearing arguments against the practice.

Groups coalesce around obvious solutions first.

Worse, the group gets anchored in the initial discussion, and canâ€™t make the jump to alternatives.

Loud mouths disproportionately influence the discussion, and the most introverted personalities are not heard at all.

Groupthink sets in, especially the closer it gets to five oâ€™ clock or lunch. The group becomes self-congratulatory, and the members tell each other theyâ€™ve got it nailed.

There is little accountability for actually devising interesting solutions, or getting them to work.

Artificial time pressures, e.g. "we have a half-hour" to crack this, shut down creativity.

We are told to be uncritical of ideas, and therefore every idea no matter what its merit needs to be considered.

Creativity

ValAir Ad Campaign Created in 1.5 Days

Creativity

ValAir Ad Campaign Created in 1.5 Days

The assignment for the ad below and its sister was received on a Wednesday morning. It was delivered to the publisher of an in-flight magazine the following afternoon. In the last 10 years, turn time for a simple advertising campaign has gone from 6-7 weeks to 2-4 weeks.

Web Video

New insights on video length and influence.

Web Video

New insights on video length and influence.

It depends. Yes, we hear you groan. The time span for most online video is 15 seconds to three minutes. Length should be determined more by the videoâ€™s function. Is it a one-minute explainer, or a 15-second branding pop? The only thing we know for sure is that the attention span is dropping.

You have 10 seconds to lasso in viewers, or they will click or scroll away. After 30 seconds youâ€™ve lost 33% of viewers, and after one minute youâ€™ll be shunned by another 45% of viewers no matter what the length of the video.

Important factors to consider are:

Context â€“ where it is placed and whatâ€™s the quality of your visual competition?

Is your video appearing on your own site, or is it pre-roll on a video platform?

Production values - placement is a clue to the quality you should aspire to.

As always, get clear with your marketing objective. Some videos are designed to be intrusive and make brand impressions. Others are for the education of users who are already customers, and others are in the direct response mold.

How does online video affect your audience?

Google, now YouTubeâ€™s boss, released data last month that provides more insight about how video impacts the sales process.

Three big takeaways

Six in 10 millennials will follow the advice of a favorite creator over a favorite TV/movie personality on what to buy.

Six in 10 millennials watch videos by their favorite creators within 24 hours.

Video on small screens, i.e. smartphones and tablets, lifts consideration of a product by 74% and its favorability perception by 61%.

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Beyond the Bull

REFS - Social Media Stats the C-Suite Understands

Beyond the Bull

REFS - Social Media Stats the C-Suite Understands

The sheer number of platforms that you mange makes reporting social media progress to the C-Suite tough. Every channel is slightly different in the analytics it provides. But you can demonstrate a holistic impact against your main KPIs by looking for what these platforms have in common.

Reach â€“ Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, Google+ and others report the reach of your account. The sum of these numbers is your potential audience provided by social media.

Engagement â€“ This relates directly to the quality of your content, so youâ€™ll want to report it. We define engagement as any action the user takes to interact with your account. For example, a like on Facebook, or a mention or retweet on Twitter, or sharing on LinkedIn. Different services may have different value depending on how you evaluate that user on your site. Wrap up all of your engagement numbers and track.

Following â€“ How many accounts are following your account across social media? These people have made a conscious effort to engage with your brand, and learn about it. Again, add it up into one number, and you have the final number in REF.

Sales â€“ Depending on your analytics tools, you should be able to tell which social media touches have contributed to sales. Thereâ€™s no single industry method of making this attribution, so we suggest you just count them. We had 1700 sales last month. Social media was involved in 1,125.

Youâ€™ll still need to know the underlying analytics, but REFS gives you four simple numbers to track progress, and they can be used to compare social to other media you invest in.

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Excuses to Drink

The User Is Drunk

UX designer Richard Littauer espouses the philosophy that we should design websites as if the user is drunk. Well, sometimes, they are. Supposedly if a site can pass the drool test, itâ€™s ready for prime time. Want more? For $250, Richard will get drunk and use your website. Get the details at his website, The User is Drunk

KFC Nails it with Finger Polish Promotion

The idea is a little gross, but we give Kentucky Fried Chicken major props for launching its "Finger Lickinâ€™ Good" nail polish. Not only did it generate millions in non-paid media, the idea ties into the brandâ€™s central claim. We canâ€™t wait for the aftershave.

Paranormal Search Engine

Unless youâ€™re breeding minotaurs, or making protective hats out of aluminum, no amount of SEO will get your company listed on UFO Seek. This is the search engine of the paranormal. Ghosts, goblins, aliens, the occult and crop circles rule the rankings here. Bookmark it for Halloween next year. UFO Seek.